Reilly: Ease up on freshwater license fees

There’s a bit of upstate-downstate rivalry here but Capital Region Assemblyman Bob Reilly’s OK with that — he wants to put upstate anglers on something of the same financial footing as their downstate counterparts, especially those who fish on Long Island or the lower Hudson.

Lawmakers earlier this year tossed overboard a Paterson-era license fee the state had been charging for saltwater fishing.

Now, Reilly, a Latham Democrat, wants to give freshwater fisherman a break too. He’s not proposing a free license but instead wants to make licenses good for a full year rather than the particular season for which they are sold, or he wants them pro-rated if purchased late in the year.

He has a bill into that effect and while it doesn’t list a price tag due to the loss of revenue that a more lax license schedule would bring, Reilly concedes there would be some undetermined cost.
Here’s what he had to say on the matter:

“With thousands of lakes, rivers and streams, not to mention hundreds of miles of coastline, New York is a fishing mecca,” Reilly said. “Unfortunately, restrictive licenses have presented more hurdles than help, often aggravating fishermen and hurting the bottom lines of small businesses that depend on the billion-dollar industry.”

Under current law, freshwater fishing licenses are only valid through the season in which they’re purchased, and their price remains the same regardless of when they’re purchased within that season. Reilly’s bill would extend the so-called annual licenses for an entire year from the date of purchase, giving fishermen more bang for their buck.